Monday, June 15, 2009

effulgence \i-FUL-juhn(t)s\, noun:

• The state of being bright and radiant; splendor; brilliance.

From Latin ex, "out of, from" + fulgere, "to shine." The adjective form of the word is effulgent.

parking karma

• The uncanny ability to find an open parking space in a desirable location of a busy parking lot.

I always have to park out in the boonies, but when I ride with Paul we're always in the front row. He's got some great parking karma.

Trivia
According to the Old Testament, how old was Noah when the rains began?

• He was 599 years, one month, and 17 days old (Genesis 7:11).

Today in History:

• Charles Goodyear: received a patent for vulcanization, a process to strengthen rubber (1844)
• Arlington National Cemetery: military burial ground was established by Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton (1864)
• Dan Quayle: famous "potatoe" misspelling incident occurred (1992)
• 2002 MN: asteroid had a near miss as it flew by Earth (2002)

Today's Birthdays:

• Edward the Black Prince (1330-1376): heir apparent to the English throne; he always wore black armor
• Erik Erikson (1902-1994): psychoanalyst who coined the phrase "identity crisis"
• Waylon Jennings (1937-2002): country music singer; also, musicians Franz Danzi (1763-1826), Edvard Grieg (1843-1907), Terri Gibbs (55) and Dryden Mitchell (33) share this birth date
• Jim Belushi (55): actor, According to Jim; also, actors Julie Hagerty (54), Eileen Davidson (50), Helen Hunt (46), Courtney Cox Arquette (45), Ice Cube (40), Leah Remini (39) and Neil Patrick Harris (36)
• Wade Boggs (51): baseball hall-of-famer; plus, sports stars Billy Williams (71), Mike Holmgren (61) and Andy Pettitte (37)